iran. President obama and the iranian president are in new york today for the u.N. General assembly. And there's talk about a possible meeting between the two leaders. Jon karl is here. Reporter: This would be historic. The last time was jimmy carter and the shah of iran, in 1977. This would be a big deal. At this point, based from what I'm hearing from white house officials, I would be surprised if the meeting doesn't happen. It might be a simple handshake. But there's nothing scheduled at this point, which is code for -- they're trying to make it happen. See what the iranians would do, as well. The president knew there were letters exchanged. And there were signs of openness and flexibility on the nuclear issue from the new iranian president. Reporter: No question. He came here before leaving tehran, said he is open to flexibility and negotiation. Clearly, there's signs of reconciliation. But nothing substantial yet. Nothing concrete. What you will hear from president obama are some very strong words directed at iran, making it clear if they want better relations with the west, they have to rein in that nuclear program. There's some fears this would be a diplomatic track. The fear is that iran is doing this to stall for time, to build that nuclear program up. Iran wants the sanctions lifted, too. They're economy has been ground down. That's why you'll hear tough words from the president again. They have to do something concrete on the ground. Everything today. Thank you very much. The bonus of having the

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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